A Christmas To Remember
by GreaserGirlSodapop
Summary: What will happen on Christmas morning with the Curtis's? Just a cute, fluffy story about the Curtis family. Ponyboy is 4, Sodapop is 7, and Darry is 11.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All rights go to S.E. Hinton.**

**A/N: Yes, I know this story is off season, but inspiration struck and I wanted to write this. Tell me what you guys think! I hope you like it!**

Sodapop tossed and turned in his bed, thrashing around underneath his heavy blanket. Christmas was tomorrow and he was way too excited to sleep. Soda loved Christmas. He loved listening to the Christmas music, wrapping presents, having snowball fights with his friends, and eating cookies and milk. According to Soda, his Mom made the best cookies in the whole world. She put just the right amount of every ingredient in them to make them taste sublime.

With a sigh, he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He quietly swung his legs over the edge of his bed and hopped out of it. Soda carefully tip-toed to the other side of the bedroom. He made sure not to step on the squeaky floorboard and wake his parents up. He heard them wrapping presents all night and heard them get to bed later than usual.

"Hey Pone, you awake?" Soda started poking Ponyboy in the nose. Pony mumbled something incoherently in his sleep and pulled the blanket higher. "Pony, wake up!" Soda ordered, shaking his little brother hard on the shoulder.

"Soda?" Pony whispered, now a little more aware of his surroundings. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," Soda shrugged his shoulders.

"Why did you wake me up Soda?" Pony asked. He blinked his sleepy eyes a few times.

"Christmas is tomorrow Pone! Did you forget?" Soda broke out into a big light-up-the-room smile.

"I didn't forget Soda. I'm just tired," Pony laid back down in his bed and pulled his blanket over him. "If you go to sleep Soda Christmas will come faster," He mumbled before falling back asleep.

Soda sighed and reluctantly walked back to his bed. He closed his eyes and tried his absolute hardest to fall asleep. He was unsuccessful. There was no way he was going to bed tonight. Thoughts of presents under the Christmas tree danced around in his head. He knew he wouldn't get much, but he was still too excited to sleep.

Soda sat back up and exited his bed. He didn't want to bother Pony again. His little brother was tired and needed his sleep. After all, Sodapop was a big boy and needed to protect and care for his baby brother.

Soda crossed the hallway. Darry's door was open and he could hear his light snoring. He must've been worn out from that big snowball fight they had this afternoon. Darry always tried his best at every physical thing he did. All that football he's been playing has really given him some good muscles.

Instead, he opened up the door to his parent's room. His Mom and Dad were curled up in bed, looking exhausted. Soda felt a little guilty waking them up, but he couldn't sleep and didn't know what else to do.

"Mommy? You awake?" Soda shook his mother gently on the shoulder. She had no reaction at all. She must've been real tired if she didn't wake up. She was a light sleeper.

Soda moved onto his dad. "Daddy wake up," He commanded. His dad stirred abit before waking up.

"Pepsi-Cola?" Mr. Curtis looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep Daddy. I tried. Really I did, but I couldn't sleep," Soda confessed. "Can we open presents now?" Soda tugged on his dad's arms with a big smile on his face.

Mr. Curtis smiled tiredly at his son's excitement. "Not right now. It's the middle of the night."

Soda leaned against his parent's bed. "But I can't sleep Daddy!" he complained.

Mr. Curtis rubbed his eyes a bit. "I'll tell you what," He started. "How about you sleep here, and we'll wake up extra early for presents."

"Okay." Soda agreed. His dad helped pull him up into the bed. Soda climbed over his dad and laid down in the middle of his two parents.

"Get some sleep Pepsi," Mr. Curtis mumbled before falling back asleep.

Soda rested his head down in the pillow. Maybe Pony was right. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner he could open presents. He yawned and pulled the blanket up to his chest. He was more tired than he thought. He felt his eyelids began to droop and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sunlight seeped through the curtains and illuminated Soda's face. He blinked open his eyes a few times and observed his surroundings. He forgot for a second that he fell asleep in his parent's bed and not his own. A reminder crashed over him like wave. It was Christmas! Soda had almost forgotten.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Soda shouted. "Wake up!"

Mrs. Curtis sat up slowly. "How did you get in our bed honey?" She looked awful surprised to see him.

"Daddy let me sleep here." Soda answered. "C'mon Mommy, we gotta go open up presents!" He pulled on his Mom's arm, trying to drag her out of bed.

"Easy honey, easy." Mrs. Curtis released her arm from Soda arm and glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall. "Soda, its 6:30 in the morning."

Soda seemed unfazed by her comment. "So? C'mon Mommy let's go! Daddy promised if I went to bed, we could wake up extra early for presents!"

Mrs. Curtis smiled and ruffled her son's hair. She just couldn't say no to his cute little face. "Alright, honey you win. Go wake up you're brothers. Be nice please." Soda dashed out of the room before his mom could finish her sentence.

"Ponyboy?" Soda entered his bedroom quietly. Pony was curled up in a ball under all his blankets and he was clutching his favorite stuffed dog. Soda felt a little guilty for waking him up, but Christmas presents were under the tree, and he wanted to open them.

"Ponyboy! Come on, let's go open up presents!" Soda yelled.

"What do you want Soda?" Pony mumbled drowsily. He stretched in his bed and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Mommy said we can open up presents now!"

Pony's big green eyes flickered with excitement. "Really?"

"Yeah, c'mon let's go wake up Darry!" Soda took his little brother by the hand and led him to Darry's room.

"How should we wake him up?" Pony asked, peering into Darry's room. There was nothing special about his room, but Pony found it magical. Pony found it so cool that Darry had his own room and didn't have to share with anybody. On the other hand, Pony kind of liked sharing a room with Soda. He loved Soda so much he didn't mind rooming with him.

"I got an idea," Soda blurted. "When I count to three, you and me run into his room and jump on top of him!" He jumped a little with excitement.

Pony giggled at the thought of jumping on top of Darry. "Alright, let's go!"

The brother's raced into Darry's room and pounced on him. Darry bolted straight out of his bed and popped his eyes open. On a normal day, he would've gotten mad that his brother's had woken him up at 6:30 in the morning, but today was Christmas. He could make an exception for that. Besides, his mom would be mad if he was being grumpy on Christmas morning.

Darry pulled his hands out from under his blanket and began mercilessly tickling his brothers.

"S-stop, s-stop guys!" Pony yelled out between laughs. Out of the brothers, he was the most ticklish.

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis stood in the threshold of Darry's room. Mr. Curtis wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and laughed at all his son's crazy antics. Darry had Sodapop pinned down on his bed and was tickling him madly. Soda struggled to break free from Darry's strong grip, but he was unsuccessful. Pony climbed on top of Darry's back and tried pulling him off of Soda. Darry pulled Ponyboy off his back and threw him down next to Soda. He tickled them both aggressively. Darry's finger started cramping up and he collapsed next to his two brothers. Soda and Pony clutched their aching stomachs and fell on top of Darry.

"Boys, do you want to open presents?" Mr. Curtis interrupted. Their eyes grew large and they hurried into the living tree.

"Wow!" They said simultaneously. They had never seen so many beautifully wrapped presents underneath the Christmas tree before. Each present had a pretty bow on top and was adorned in lavish wrappings.

"It's magical," Ponyboy whispered. Mr. Curtis heard him and scooped him up. He adjusted his son in his arms and kissed the top of his head. Mr. Curtis knew there weren't many presents under the tree. He wished his sons could have much more, but this was all he could afford. As long as he could keep his sons and wife happy, he was a happy man.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This one's for you, Pone." Soda handed his brother a small present that was hidden underneath all the other big ones.

Pony tore off the paper carefully. Unlike his brothers, Pony liked to unwrap his presents slow and prudently. He tossed the paper aside, revealing a new box of crayons.

"Thank you Mommy!" Pony hurried over to his two parents and hugged them. "It was just what I wanted. My blue and yellow are broken from my other box. It's hard to draw a pretty sky without blue and yellow."

"I'm glad you're happy son." Mr. Curtis ruffled Pony's hair. "Go open up some more."

Pony nodded and headed back by the Christmas tree next to Soda. Soda was sitting all around his toys, looking at them with a huge grin on his face. He had received a toy car set, a car sticker book, a horse figurine, a picture book about horses, and a poster of a horse for his wall. Soda had already opened up all five of his presents, while Pony still had two more.

Pony chose the biggest one out of all his remaining presents and carefully tore the paper back. He held in his hand the new book he's been wanting. He saw it in the window of the bookstore and begged his mother to have it. He was thrilled to finally receive it.

Pony finished unwrapping the rest of his presents and joined Darry and Soda on the couch.

"Whatcha got there Pone?" Soda asked, helping pull his little brother onto the couch.

"I got a coloring book, crayons, a book, a puzzle set, and a block set," Pony answered.

"How 'bout you Dare?" Soda questioned.

Darry pointed over to the big pile of sports equipment scattered amongst the floor. "I got a new baseball, a new bat, a baseball mitt, football shoulder pads, and this." Darry hopped off the couch and showed his brothers his new football. "Be careful guys. This is the best football I've ever gotten."

Soda ran his fingers along the seam of the football. "It's awful nice Darry," He said in low voice. He wasn't sure why he was talking so quietly, but it seemed to fit the mood.

"Boys!" Mrs. Curtis called from the kitchen. "Time for breakfast!"

You didn't have to tell these boys twice. They hurried into the kitchen and took their seats at the kitchen table. The aroma smelled wonderful. The powerful scent of bacon and eggs overwhelmed the boys.

"Mommy I'm hungry!" Soda whined. Mrs. Curtis smiled and continued flipping her pancakes. She tossed the last one on the plate and set it down on the table. Darry grabbed on eagerly.

"Hey, I wanted that one!" Soda complained.

"Get another one," Darry said around a mouthful of food.

Mr. Curtis came up behind his sons and scared them. The boys jumped in unison.

"Daddy!" Ponyboy said. "You scared me!"

Mr. Curtis chuckled and grabbed himself a pancake off the plate. He took a seat next to Darry, while Mrs. Curtis served the rest of the breakfast. She served bacon, eggs, and toast in addition to the pancakes. All the boys, including Mr. Curtis, dived right in.

Mrs. Curtis laughed at the way Sodapop had syrup leaking out of the corners of his mouth. _That'll be a pain to wash off later._ She thought to herself. She joined all her boys at the table and sighed contently. She might not have much in life, but the way she saw all her boys laughing and joking around made everything worthwhile. Just seeing her boy's smile made her day better. This truly was one Christmas to remember.

**A/N: Did you enjoy it? I was thinking about adding a few more chapters. Reviews would be great! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights go to S.E. Hinton.**

**A/N: So, I uploaded another chapter of my story. I'll probably be able to do one more on this story before starting another one. Tell me what you guys think. Reviews would be appreciated!**

"Look!" Sodapop pointed out the window eagerly. "It's snowing!"

Mr. Curtis went to stand next to his son. "Well I'll be. Snow on Christmas. That's special." He patted Soda on the shoulder encouragingly. He knew what question his boys would be asking next.

"Can we go outside and play Daddy?" Ponyboy ran up to his dad and jumped around him excitedly.

"Yeah Dad, can we?" Darry asked. He was already pulling on his snow pants and winter coat.

"It's okay with me, but you'll have to ask your mother." Mr. Curtis responded.

The boys hurried into the kitchen where their mother was washing dishes from their big Christmas breakfast buffet.

"Hey Mommy," Soda started. Darry and Pony let Soda do all the talking because he was the most charming. "I was wondering if maybe we can go outside and play outside in the snow." He batted his big brown eyes up at her adorably.

Mrs. Curtis put the dish she was drying off on the drying rack and looked at her son. His huge eyes were pleading and he had the cutest smile on his face.

"Alright, but I'm dressing you up nice and warm." She threw her dishtowel to the side and headed to the hall closet.

"Darry, you're first," She ordered. Darry reluctantly walked over to her like he was going to his death sentence. He always thought of himself as a big boy who didn't need his Mom to help with anything.

Mrs. Curtis zipped Darry's jacket up to his neck and made sure he had a big warm scarf wrapped around him.

"Aw Mom, stop it. I don't need any of this junk!" He protested, pushing his mother's hand away. "I'll be warm enough."

"You'll thank me later," Mrs. Curtis said. "Sodapop you're next."

Soda trudged his feet across the carpet. His mom dressed him a wool sweater, a big winter jacket, a pair of sweatpants under snow pants, two scarfs, two hats, a pair of gloves, two pairs of thick winter socks and his winter boots.

"Mom, I can't see around this scarf!" Soda complained. He peeled back the fur from his scarf so he could see Ponyboy get dressed.

Poor little Pony was the most dressed out of all the boys. He had on a huge winter sweater, two coats, sweatpants under his snow pants, three scarfs, three hats, two pairs of gloves, four pairs of socks and his snow boots.

"Ok boys I think you're warm enough," Mrs. Curtis said, stepping back to observe her sons. "Go have fun." She gave them an encouraging pat on the back.

"We'll be at the lot Ma!" Sodapop yelled over his shoulder. He ran outside the house to find his two brothers halfway to the lot.

"Hey wait up guys!" Soda tried to run after his brothers, but he had restricted mobility due to all his coats and sweatpants. Darry kept walking, but Pony ran back to get Soda.

"Thanks Ponyboy," Soda said, taking his little brother's hand. "Let's get some of this warm stuff off ya." Pony had tripped and fell flat on his face three times while running back to Soda. It was hard for a little four year old to run, let alone wearing two huge winter coats.

Soda unzipped one of Pony's coats, removed two scarfs, two hats, and a pair of gloves. He threw them on his porch and hoped by the time his mother saw Pony's clothes he would be at the lot. He knew his mom wouldn't be happy if she saw that Soda had taken off Pony's clothes.

"Guys, come on!" Darry yelled. "I'm sure everybody's already there waitin' for us!" Darry hated to be late. It always made him feel embarrassed to know all his friends were waiting for him while he was stuck waiting for his two slowpoke kid brothers.

Pony and Soda took off at full speed down the snowy road to catch up with Darry. They knew that when Darry yelled at them, he meant it.

"Where have you guys been?" Two-Bit asked, once the three Curtis's arrived at the lot. "We were waiting for ten minutes for you guys!"

"Why don't ask these two clowns why we're late," Darry grumbled. He nodded his head in the direction of Soda and Pony.

"We're here now, so let's play something!" Soda exclaimed.

"Let's have a snowball fight!" Steve suggested.

"I wanna be captain!" Pony waved his hands in the air and jumped around in the snow.

"You're a bit little, Pone. Why don't we let Darry and Dallas be captain?" Soda gave his little brother a comforting pat on the head.

Darry and Dally stepped in front of everybody and scanned their friends to see who would be the best on their team. "I'm picking first," Dally ordered.

"No way," Darry crossed his arms protectively over his chest. "I'm picking first. I'm older." There was no way Darry was going to let a scrawny eight year old pick before him.

"Fine." Dally grinned sneakily. "My team's gonna beat your butt anyway."

Darry shrugged off Dally's threat and started picking. "I pick…." Darry rubbed his chin the same way his dad would when he was trying to think of something. "Two-Bit, get over here!"

Two-Bit skipped merrily over to Darry's side. It was no secret that Darry was the most athletic out of all the boys here.

"I'm pickin' Johnny!" Dally announced. Johnny smiled shyly and stood next to Dally. He was ecstatic that his hero picked him first for the team. Johnny had never been picked first for anything.

Darry went on to pick Steve and Dally chose Soda. Steve and Soda were both disappointed they wouldn't get to be on the same team, but they would have to settle for what teams they got.

"What about me?" A small voice asked. Everyone forgot about Ponyboy, who wasn't chosen for a team.

"You can be on our team Pony." Soda grabbed his little brother's hand and led him over to where his team was standing.

"Good," Steve snorted. "We didn't want you on our team anyway."

Sodapop shot him such a look Steve shut his mouth immediately. Steve knew not to mess with Pony when Soda was around.

"Let's get started!" Two-Bit whined. Darry took the cue and led his team over to where they would be hiding. Steve, Two-Bit and Darry crouched in the bushes next to the big tree that's used to mark the end zone when they play football.

"So here's the plan," Darry whispered. He used his finger to trace a game plan in the snow. "Two-Bit, you stay here and make a bunch of snowballs for me and Steve to throw. They're hiding underneath the slide, so it might be hard to catch them, but Steve and I can do it." Steve nodded in agreement with Darry's plan.

"So, all I have to do is sit here and make snowballs?" Two-Bit asked.

"Ya can't mess up that job, Two-Bit." Steve chuckled.

"Hey," Two-Bit crossed his arms in fake pout. "For your information Stevie, I'm very skilled at throwing snowballs."

Steve scoffed. "I'd like to see you try." Their argument was interrupted by Dally hurling a snowball right at Darry's face. It smacked against his foreheadwith a loud thud.

"Oh, that looked like it hurt!" Two-Bit chuckled. He gaped at Darry's face and laughed like he was watching an episode of Mickey.

"Hurry you idiot!" Steve shrieked. "Start makin' snowballs! They're attacking!"

The three boys huddled under the bush, trying their best to make their snowballs while being pelted by big wads of cold snow.

Darry finally managed to make three decent snowballs and took the opportunity to hurl them at Soda and Dally. The one snowball thumped Soda right in the eye and he had to retreat back to the slide for recovery.

"They're making snowballs over there," Soda reported to Pony and Johnny, who were huddled under the slide, making snowballs as fast as there tiny hands would allow them.

Dally hustled back to his base and filled his arms with as many snowballs as he could hold. He ran behind to Two-Bit and shoved a few snowballs down his pants.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Two-Bit ran around in circles, trying to fling the mushy snow from out of his pants.

Dally, Soda, Pony, and Johnny laughed like maniacs. "Good goin' Dal." Soda was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. "How did ya manage to pull that off?"

"I think we all know Two-Bit doesn't pay attention to anything but Mickey," Dally explained.

The boys continued to run around smacking each other with balls of snow until they were so tired they couldn't even walk anymore.

"Let's go to my house," Soda wheezed. "I'm awful tired." His friends and brothers nodded in agreement.

"Would it be ok if I came to?" Johnny whispered. His mom and dad had kicked him out of the house so they could go get drunk at some sleazy bar.

"Of course you can, Johnnycake." Soda slung an arm around his friend's shoulders. "No one should be alone on Christmas."

Johnny smiled and walked next to Ponyboy. The Curtis's were always so kind to him. He wouldn't know what to do without them. He would have nowhere to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Mommy, we're home! We brought some company home with us." Soda announced. He removed all his wet snow gear and dumped it in a soggy pile near the door.

"Sodapop Patrick Curtis," Mrs. Curtis poked her head out from the kitchen. "Pick up your snow clothes right now and put them in the laundry room. That goes for the rest of you boys."

The seven boys trudged to the laundry room and discarded all their damp snow stuff. When they arrived back into the living room, they found a heavenly surprise waiting for them. Mrs. Curtis had baked a huge tray of Christmas cookies and made a cup of hot chocolate for each of them. "What's Christmas without cookies?" She said.

The boys took sat down eagerly and loaded their plates with every cookie they could get their hands on. "Mmmmm!" The boys chorused.

"This is the best cookie I've ever had Mrs. C." Two-Bit said around a mouthful of cookies.

"I'm glad you're enjoying them boys." She sat next to Ponyboy and admired her boys scarf down their cookies. She loved the satisfying feeling she felt in her chest knowing that she made her family's Christmas better. Even if was just supplying hungry boys with Christmas cookies, she made their day better. That's what Christmas is all about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights go to S.E. Hinton. **

**A/N: I have another story that I was working on so this chapter is shorter than the other two. Be on the lookout for my next story which I will be posting on Friday! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Reviews would be amazing!**

Darry swallowed the last of his hot chocolate and set his empty mug down on the coffee table in front of him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned back on the couch. He was feeling quite satisfied, until an overwhelming thought rushed over him. He still hasn't given his parents their Christmas gift yet!

A few before days before Christmas, Darry, Soda and Ponyboy had gotten together to try and figure out what they could give their parents for Christmas. Their parents were hard workers and they thought it would be a nice idea to give them something homemade. It was a long discussion that spawned several arguments between the brothers, but they finally agreed on one idea: they were going to draw a big picture of their family to give to their parents.

Pony was the one who was most involved in the project. He was always drawing and coloring in his coloring books. He was paying very close attention to every small detail in the picture. He had to make sure his Mom's hair was the perfect shade of gold and his Dad's eyes were the brightest shade of blue.

Sodapop wasn't really too interested in the coloring project. He wanted to make sure his parents would receive a nice gift on Christmas, but drawing wasn't really his thing. He tried sitting down and helping his brothers color and draw, but he couldn't sit still long enough to make decent progress on the project. On occasion, he would help color his Mom's hair or his Dad's shirt or something small like that, but that was only because we felt guilty that Darry and Ponyboy were doing all the work and he wasn't really doing anything to help them.

Darry was enjoying drawing the portrait for the most part, but he still found it tedious. Pony kept telling him that he wasn't paying enough attention to the little details. Darry thought he was doing a pretty good job. He didn't need an annoying little four year old brother to tell him what he was doing wrong. Darry thought _he_ was supposed to be telling Pony what to do and not the other way around.

As much as he didn't like what Pony was doing, he could understand where he was coming from. All the brothers wanted their parents to enjoy this family portrait and appreciate all the time and effort they put into making it look special. Their parents worked hard and deserved a thoughtful gift to open on Christmas.

They finished the large drawing just the day before Christmas Eve. Darry was glad they finished it early, so they weren't scrambling at the last minute to get it done. Darry was all about doing things efficiently and on time.

A loud wrestling match between Soda and Steve brought Darry out of his thoughts. It was getting pretty late and he wanted to give his parents their present before it got too late.

"Soda!" Darry barked. Soda tried to wriggle himself out of Steve's strong grip, but was unsuccessful. Steve was pretty strong for his age. Soda finally managed to slide out from Steve when he wasn't paying attention, and hurried over to Darry.

"Whatcha want Dare? " Soda asked, slightly out of breath from his brawl with Steve.

"We gotta give our gift to Mom and Dad," Darry whispered.

Soda's eyes grew large and he went to go pass the message onto Ponyboy. They both moved over to where Darry was sitting on the couch.

"Can we do it now Darry?" Pony was bouncing around Darry and tugging hard on his arm. "We worked so hard on it! I don't think I can wait any longer! "

"Calm down, Pone," Darry said. "Let's wait until Two-Bit, Steve, Dally and Johnny leave." Darry made sure to raise his voice a little bit so their friends would get the message and give them some time alone with their parents. It's not that Darry was kicking his friends out, but he just thought it would be better if his friends weren't there when they gave the portrait to their parents. It was more of a family moment and Darry didn't need his rowdy friends around to spoil it.

Two-Bit seemed the first to get the message that the Curtis family wanted to be alone. "Hey guys," Two-Bit interrupted Dally and Steve's wrestling match. Dally was clearly winning, pissing off Steve greatly. "I think we better leave now."

Steve and Dally took the hint too and stopped their wrestling match. Johnny stood behind them and waited for them to leave so he could follow them out.

"Hey Soda, tell your parents we're gonna leave now," Steve said, while pulling on his winter coat. It was still slightly damp from when he was pelted earlier with wet snowballs.

Dally finished pulling on his thin leather jacket and waved a half-hearted goodbye to the brothers. He exited the Curtis household and let the door slam behind.

"Bye Ponyboy," Johnny whispered so quietly Pony could barely understand his friend. Johnny hurried out to meet Dally on the porch before they left together.

"Bye Mr. Curtis! Thanks Mrs. Curtis!" Two-Bit hollered so loud you could've heard him over in the Soc's territory.

"Oh you're leaving Keith?" Mrs. Curtis poked her head out from the kitchen. "Tell your mother and sister I said Merry Christmas."

"Will do Mrs. C." Two-Bit shrugged his coat on. "And you can call me Two-Bit."

Mr. Curtis chuckled from where he was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table and Mrs. Curtis rolled her eyes jokingly and continued to wash the dishes and mugs from the boys' snack.

After Two-Bit left, Soda approached his mother sweetly. "Mommy, can you Daddy sit down on the couch please?" He asked in the most mature voice he could muster.

"Of course honey." Mrs. Curtis ruffled Sodapop's blonde hair affectionately. She glanced over at her husband and smiled at him. Mrs. Curtis knew what was coming. She didn't know what her boys were doing in Darry's room for the past few days, but she knew they were making something for her and her husband for Christmas. She could hear the banter and noise coming from behind the locked door and figured they must've been making a Christmas present for her and her husband to open.

The boys scurried down the hall while Mr. and Mrs. Curtis took their seats in the family room. Darry, Soda and Pony returned holding a large poster board that was sloppily wrapped in last year's old Christmas wrapping paper scraps.

"Sorry about the look of it," Darry said apologetically. "We ain't the best wrappers."

"Aren't. Please use correct grammar Darry." Mrs. Curtis was always getting on her sons' case about using the correct grammar.

"Go ahead and open it Mommy and Daddy!" Pony said with a large grin on his face.

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis exchanged glances and tore the paper aside. Mr. Curtis held up the drawing on his lap to let his wife get a better view on the drawing.

"Oh my word," Mrs. Curtis whispered.

"We're sorry if you don't like it Mommy." Soda said sadly.

"Oh no, honey. It's not that," Mrs. Curtis explained. "I love it." Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over. "Thank you so much boys. This is absolutely perfect." Her voice was wavering slightly due to the tears.

Darry, Soda, and Pony smiled equally large smiles. They were so proud that all their hard work had paid off. They jumped on the couch and tackled their parents in a huge hug.

"I'm glad you liked it Mommy," Pony whispered. "Merry Christmas."


End file.
